Modern Family is one of the tightest multi-generational sitcoms ever put on network television, particularly across its first five seasons. It avoids the preachy, syrup-coated tone of older family shows while refusing to turn cynical. Every character has visible flaws, selfish impulses, and blind spots, yet the baseline affection between them never feels in doubt.

For a family watch night with middle schoolers or high schoolers, it hits a rare groove where parents laugh at the parenting exhaustions and kids laugh at the kids manipulating the system. Keep in mind that it was written for prime-time ABC: dialogue leans heavily into marital intimacy jokes, adolescent dating drama, and teen misbehavior.